Deported by US, 73-yr-old lands in Delhi

A 73-year-old Sikh woman from Punjab, Harjit Kaur, was deported from the US and arrived in India on Thursday evening after being held in custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials during a routine check-in in California.

- FPJ News Service

Kaur, who had been living in California for over a decade, was placed on a flight to New Delhi with other deportees despite appeals by her lawyers for humanitarian consideration.

Her counsel alleged that US authorities showed “little compassion for her age and fragile health,” insisting that she had never been involved in any criminal activity. Family members waiting at Delhi's IGI Airport said Kaur appeared exhausted and shaken when she walked out of the arrivals gate, accompanied by immigration staff.

"She is old, frail, and in no condition to withstand detention," said her lawyer in Delhi, adding that she was "denied due dignity in the twilight years of her life." The deportation underscores a growing number of removals of South Asian immigrants from the US, many of them with unresolved asylum claims or minor immigration violations. Rights groups argue that elderly migrants are especially vulnerable because they lack the resources to navigate complex legal processes.